Prayer

Still a Revolutionary Idea!

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

On this National Day of Prayer I thought it appropriate to return to where the founders began on July 4, 1776.

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  Declaration of Independence

  • As we pray we must humbly remember that everything we have comes from God
  • As we pray we must believe that God will hear and answer prayer just as he did for the signers of The Declaration of Independence.
  • As we pray we should ask not only for God’s help for us but also for what He would want  us to do to help for others.
  • As we pray we must always remember that we are His creation and that without Him nothing else matters. No prosperity will ever be enough, no success can be final and no joy will last unless we put our trust in Him.

In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11

On this 7th of May in 2020 in the middle of the Corona Virus Pandemic, it continues to be true that trusting God is still a revolutionary idea!

close up photography of american flag

Photo by Travis Saylor on Pexels.com

 

He Hears

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

In my imagination I sometimes wonder just how soundly asleep Jesus really was during the storm at sea. I have thought that perhaps he was more aware of the circumstances than the disciples knew. Perhaps as He climbed into the boat that day He said something along the lines of: “Okay while you guys start rowing us across Galilee, I am going to take a nap. Then as He borrowed a pillow and went to sleep He was saying to himself, “I know what is coming next, I wonder how long it will be before they wake me up?”

photo of people on rowboat during sunset

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

Then as the wind picked up and the sky darkened with storm clouds the disciples kept rowing as hard as they could. They didn’t want Jesus to have to worry about anything; after all they were all experienced fishermen. Then as the first wave or two sloshed over the side of the boat some may have begun to worry. Finally as wave after giant wave tossed the little boat up and down and it began to take on water panic took hold of their hearts.

 

“Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Mark 4:38b

 

Just like us, they had come to the place where they wondered if God even cared about their fears. But Jesus is in our boat, to be our Immanuel through any storm. He listened to the disciples. He listened to King David. He is listening to you.

If today you are facing your biggest fear God is with you in your boat. He is waiting for us to cry out like David, like the disciples and like countless generations of believers. He is with us and He hears!

My Father’s World

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Then pray like this: Our Father in Heaven Hallowed Be Your name Your kingdom come Your will be done On earth as it is in Heaven  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.                               Matthew 6:9-13 ESV

 

The hymn, “This is My Father’s World” was written as a poem by Maltbie Babcock and wasn’t set to music until 15 years after his death. If we were to step back we would also see it as a reflection of the Lord’s Prayer. Throughout our current Corona virus crisis this reminds me that in the middle of uncertainty; God never changes. “This is my Father’s world and to my listening ear.”  The first unchangeable truth this song gives us is that, no matter what happens in this world our Father in Heaven is listening but during our time of enforced idleness we might ask, “Are we listening for His voice?”

Secondly; even though God is in charge He gives us a part to play. We are to pray; “Your kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Just as the birds raise their carols in the second verse, our opportunity in this crisis is to praise God as our creator and worship Him in a way that brings heaven’s rule to our own little patch of ground.

KIMG0845

Then we must trust Him even when our world seems dark. “And when the wrong seems oft so strong.”  When we are unable to provide for ourselves as we are accustomed we learn to ask Him to give our daily bread. When we lose patience or fail under pressure; He promises that if only we ask that He will forgive us as we are forgiving of those around us.

“This is my Father’s world, the battle is not done.” Last of all when temptation calls we must depend on God’s help to lead us away and when we are surrounded by our enemies; He promises to deliver us by His cross! “Jesus who died will be satisfied; and earth and heaven be one.”